Conventionally, there has been known a refill pouch which is sealed after filling contents such as seasoning, cosmetics, or detergent therein. The refill pouch is designed to transfer the contents into a plastic bottle, a glass bottle, or other containers after being opened. Thus, the refill pouch as described above is demanded to allow the contents to be easily taken out while maintaining stable flow to the end.
Well-known examples of the refill pouch include one in which a nozzle portion formed of a member which is separated from a pouch body is formed at a corner portion of a pouch (refer to Patent Document 1). Further, there is proposed one in which a nozzle portion is formed by processing a wrapping member which constitutes a pouch main body (refer to Patent Document 2).
In addition, there is known a standing pouch in which a nozzle portion is formed with an opening and fold lines at the central portion of the upper end of the pouch (refer to Patent Document 3).    Patent Document 1: JP 5-132069 A    Patent Document 2: JP 2003-137319 A    Patent Document 3: JP 10-129683 A
However, in the refill pouch having the nozzle portion formed at the corner portion of the pouch, when contents of high viscosity are poured out, the nozzle is blocked owing to pressurization, with the result that it is difficult to pour out the contents of high viscosity in some cases. In addition, when the pouch is rolled up from the bottom portion thereof for the purpose of squeezing out the contents of a small remaining amount, the pouch is diagonally rolled up. As a result, there is a disadvantage in that the contents are accumulated on the upper side of the pouch, which is difficult to be rolled up, and hence the remaining amount thereof is increased.
In addition, regarding the pouch having the nozzle portion formed of the separated member, special members and processes are necessary, and hence manufacturing cost of the pouch is increased. Further, the pouch prior to filling of contents is space-consuming, and hence there is a problem of an increase in transportation cost.
Meanwhile, in the pouch disclosed in Patent Document 3, in which the nozzle portion is formed of the opening and the fold lines at the central portion of the upper end of the pouch, when the pouch is squeezed for pouring out the contents thereof, the contents are spilt in some cases owing to unstable configuration of the nozzle portion. Further, there is a disadvantage in that the nozzle portion is blocked so that it is difficult to pour out the contents.
In the past, in order to solve those problems in the related art, the inventors of the present invention have proposed a branch type standing pouch in which, at the center of the nozzle portion formed from the top of the standing pouch body in a branched manner, there are provided mountain-fold ridge lines extending in the longitudinal direction, and nozzle base forming lines on both the sides thereof (Patent Document 4).    Patent Document 4: JP 2005-313994 A
In this standing pouch, the pouch is opened and the squeezing portions on both the upper sides of the pouch are squeezed, whereby a three-dimensional nozzle having a large bore diameter can be formed with a single touch. Further, the configuration of the nozzle of the pouch is stable, and hence it is possible to easily operate the pouch with one hand so as to swiftly and completely pour out the contents. In addition, the entire shape the pouch is stable, and hence the outward appearance is excellent when the pouch is opened and the nozzle is formed.
However, as illustrated in FIG. 4 of Patent Document 4, this pouch is used by squeezing the squeezing portions on both the upper sides of the pouch so as to stand the nozzle diagonally upward. Thus, the operation of pouring out the contents, which is performed by children with small hands, weak women, and old persons, is unstable in some cases. Further, the nozzle is divided at the branch portion, and hence there is a problem that it is difficult to stand the nozzle in a three-dimensional manner and maintain the opened state thereof in some cases. Therefore, a branch type standing pouch has been demanded, in which the opened nozzle can easily be stood to be fixed, and in addition, which can easily be operated for pouring-out.